Conduit support device

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a conduit support device having high reliability even under severe conditions. A conduit support including a conduit, a support member configured to extend along a longitudinal direction of the conduit, and integrally support the conduit, and be capable of being bent at an arbitrary position in the longitudinal direction, and an accommodation member within which the conduit and the support member are stored, wherein an intermediate member is arranged between the support member and the accommodation member is provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 17/418,628 filed on Jun. 25, 2021, which is a National StagePatent Application of PCT International Patent Application No.PCT/JP2019/051296 filed on Dec. 26, 2019 under 35 U.S.C. § 371, whichclaims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-248207 filed onDec. 28, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a conduit support device which includesa conduit and a support member integrated with the conduit to supportthe conduit, wherein the conduit and the support member are bendable.

BACKGROUND ART

For example, machining lines, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, andelectronic-component mounting apparatuses include robot travel devicesfor grasping and conveying workpieces such as workpiece materials,wafers, electronic components, substrates, etc. Robot travel devicesinclude robots for handling, for example, workpieces, on travelcarriages which are moving members to move back and forth on tracks.

To the travel carriages of such robot travel devices, electrical cables,optical cables, tubes for supplying hydraulic or pneumatic power, etc.(hereinafter, these cables, tubes, and etc. will be referred to asconduits) are connected. Even with respect to the travel carriages whosepositions change by repeated reciprocating, connections using conduitsneed to be maintained stably. To this end, the conduits are supported byconduit support devices. The conduit support devices supportpredetermined lengths of conduits by U-shaped support members each ofwhich consists of two straight parts facing each other and a curved partconnecting them. The conduit support devices change the lengths of thestraight parts facing each other according to the position of the travelcarriage such that the stable connection of the conduits with the travelcarriage whose position changes is maintained. Such conduit supportdevices can keep the curvature radiuses of conduits even when thepositions of the travel carriages change. Therefore, while a signaltransmission property and a transport property using the conduits aresecured, breakage of the conduits is prevented.

Such conduit support devices include accommodation members capable ofaccommodating conduits and support members inside. Inside theaccommodation members, conduits are stored along support members,whereby the curved shapes of the conduits are restricted to the sameshapes as the curved shapes of the support members. Further, theaccommodation members have the function of preventing dust such asabrasion powder attributable to deformation operations of the supportmembers and so on from scattering around.

In such conduit support devices, the support members and theaccommodation members are required to be highly reliable. For example,if the support members are broken during operation, they may damage theconduits or damage the qualities of workpieces. Even if theaccommodation members are broken, the internal abrasion powder mayscatter, causing serious damage, such as contamination of not onlyworkpieces in process but also the surrounding environment.

Meanwhile, in order to achieve high productivity, conduit supportdevices are required to cope with longer reciprocating distance (anincrease in the length of stroke) and faster movement. Further, theconduit support devices are required to stably operate over a longerperiod of time even under such conditions with increased mechanicalload. As mentioned above, the demand for improved reliability of conduitsupport devices is increasing.

In Patent Literature 1, there is disclosed a conduit support deviceincluding a support member having a flexible material andnon-interlocking solids attached to the flexible material. The flexiblematerial is made of, for example, stainless steel or spring steel, andthe non-interlocking solids are made of, for example, a metal materialor a resin material having high compression resistance. The supportmember has a configuration in which if the non-interlocking solids comeinto contact with each other, bending to a certain direction isrestricted, and if the non-interlocking solids are separated from eachother, bending to the opposite direction is possible. There is disclosedthat as the result, it is possible to provide a support member whichrealizes high flexibility, low mechanical noise, a small bend radius,and long life, a long lifespan and substantially does not produceabrasion powder containing particulate matter attributable to abrasion,etc.

In Patent Literature 2, there is disclosed an articulatedcables-and-the-like protecting and guiding apparatus in which connectorunits integrally hold articulated end portions of an articulated supportmember, cable end portions of cables and the like, and slot end portionsof a flexible belt member and seal the slot end portions of the flexiblebelt member, in order to prevent abrasion powder from scattering to theoutside.

In Patent Literature 3, there is disclosed a flat cable for wiringmovable parts configured for suppressing wear and dust attributable towear such that round tubes which cables for wiring movable parts can beinserted into and be removed from and rectangular tubes which supportmembers can be inserted into are arranged in parallel (see FIG. 21 ).There is disclosed that since the flat cable has an inner layer made ofa fluorine resin on the inner peripheries of the rectangular tubes, itis possible to suppress wear attributable to contact with the supportmembers and dust attributable to wear.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS Patent Literature

-   Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application National Laid-Open    No. 2006-507788-   Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.    2012-170245-   Patent Literature 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.    2017-21903

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Problem to be Solved by the Invention

However, these conduit support devices disclosed in the literatures haveroom for improvement in terms of reliability. In particular, in the casewhere a large mechanical load is applied by a support member, and/or inthe case where a stable continuous operation is required for a longerperiod of time, it was difficult to secure sufficient reliability.

An object of the present invention is to provide a conduit supportdevice having high reliability even under severe conditions.

Means for Solving the Problem

According to an aspect of the present invention, it is provided aconduit support device including a conduit, a support member configuredto extend along a longitudinal direction of the conduit, and integrallysupport the conduit, and be capable of being bent at an arbitraryposition in the longitudinal direction, and an accommodation memberwithin which the conduit and the support member are stored, wherein anintermediate member is disposed between the support member and theaccommodation member.

The support member may be configured to be capable of being bent in afirst direction up to a predetermined curvature and maintain a straightshape without being bent in a second direction which is the oppositedirection to the first direction, and the conduit support device mayinclude an area which is positioned at an inner periphery side ofbending when the support member is bent, and has the intermediate memberbetween the support member and the accommodation member, and an areawhich is positioned at an outer periphery side of bending when thesupport member is bent, and has no intermediate member between thesupport member and the accommodation member.

The support member and the intermediate member may be configured suchthat sliding according to bending of the support member can occurbetween them, and the intermediate member and the accommodation membermay be configured such that sliding according to bending of the supportmember can occur between them.

An amount of sliding which occurs between the intermediate member andthe accommodation member may be larger than an amount of sliding whichoccurs between the support member and the intermediate member.

The support member may include a trapping layer capable of trappingparticles existing inside the accommodation member.

The trapping layer may be made of an adhesive substance.

The trapping layer may be made of a substance which is semisolid at anordinary temperature, and be formed as a layer having a thickness of 10μm or greater.

The conduit support device may include a trapping-layer formation areawhich is included in an internal area of a valley-shaped part formed bya surface of the support member and an end of the intermediate memberand has the trapping layer, and a trapping-layer non-formation areawhich is included in an area where the support member and theaccommodation member are in contact with each other and has no trappinglayer.

The accommodation member may include a first accommodation chamber wherethe support member is stored, and a second accommodation chamber wherethe conduit is stored, and the first accommodation chamber may includethe intermediate member between the support member and the accommodationmember, and the second accommodation chamber may not include theintermediate member between the conduit and the accommodation member.

The accommodation member may be made from an inner sheet which ispositioned at an inner periphery side of the bending of the supportmember, and an outer sheet which is positioned at an outer peripheryside of the bending of the support member, and the accommodation membermay include a plurality of joint areas formed by bonding the inner sheetand the outer sheet, and a plurality of accommodation chambers formedbetween the joint areas, and the support member and the conduit may bestored in the plurality of accommodation chambers, respectively.

The outer sheet may be made from a sheet having stretchability higherthan that of the inner sheet.

The accommodation member may include a first joint area and a secondjoint area defining an accommodation chamber for accommodating thesupport member, and in a cross-sectional view of the conduit supportdevice 1 as seen from a longitudinal direction of the conduit supportdevice, a length along the inner sheet between the first joint area andthe second joint area may be shorter than a length along the outer sheetbetween the first joint area and the second joint area.

Effect of the Invention

According to the aspect of the present invention, it is possible toprovide a conduit support device having high reliability even undersevere conditions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an overview diagram of a processing apparatus of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the basic configuration of aconduit support device 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial cutaway view of an example of the present inventionhaving an intermediate member 5 between a support member 3 and anaccommodation member.

FIG. 4 shows another example which is an embodiment of the presentinvention and has an intermediate member 5 between a support member 3and an accommodation member.

FIG. 5 includes a front view (a) and a side view (b) of an inner plateof an example of the support member 3 according to the embodiment of thepresent invention, respectively.

FIG. 6 includes a front view (a) and a side view (b) of an outer plateof the example of the support member 3 according to the embodiment ofthe present invention, respectively.

FIG. 7 includes a front view (a) and a cross-sectional view (b) of theexample of the support member 3 according to the embodiment of thepresent invention, respectively.

FIG. 8 includes a front view (a), a top view (b) and a cross-sectionalview (c) of a block member of another example of the support member 3according to the embodiment of the present invention, respectively.

FIG. 9 includes a cross-sectional view (a) and a front view (b) ofanother example of the support member 3 according to the embodiment ofthe present invention, respectively.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of the front of FIG. 9 which is anotherexample of the support member 3 according to the embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 11 includes front views of a further example of the support member3 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and show thestraight state (a) and the curved state (b), respectively.

FIG. 12 shows a modification of the conduit support device 1 of thepresent invention.

FIG. 13 shows another modification of the conduit support device 1 ofthe present invention.

FIG. 14 shows another modification of the conduit support device 1 ofthe present invention.

FIG. 15 shows another modification of the conduit support device 1 ofthe present invention.

FIG. 16 is a view for explaining a region of FIG. 15 indicated by B.

FIG. 17 shows another modification of the conduit support device 1 ofthe present invention.

FIG. 18 shows another modification of the conduit support device 1 ofthe present invention.

FIG. 19 shows another modification of the conduit support device 1 ofthe present invention.

FIG. 20 shows another modification of the conduit support device 1 ofthe present invention.

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view of a flat cable for wiring movableparts according to the prior art.

EMBODIMENTS FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiments to bedescribed below do not limit the inventions of claims, and allcombinations of features described in the embodiments are notnecessarily essential to the means for the solution of the invention.Further, the individual embodiments of the individual examples may befreely combined without losing technical meaning of the presentinvention.

FIG. 1 is an overview diagram of a processing apparatus 100 including aconduit support device 1. The processing apparatus 100 includes a stage101 on the main body, and on the stage 101, workpieces (not shown in thedrawing) can be disposed. The processing apparatus 100 includes aprocessing head 102 relatively movable with respect to workpieces, asshown in FIG. 1 . The processing head 102 includes, for example, aworkpiece holding means such as a robot hand, a means for irradiationwith an electromagnetic wave such as a monochromatic ray or an X-ray, oran acquiring means such as a camera or a detector, and is configured tobe movable to a position corresponding to an arbitrary position on aworkpiece. One end of the conduit support device 1 is connected as afixed end to the main body of the processing apparatus 100, and theother end is connected to the processing head 102. As the processinghead 102 moves, a curved part of the conduit support device 1 moveswhile keeping a predetermined radius, and at the same time, the lengthsof two straight parts facing each other change, so it is possible tomaintain the stable connection between the processing apparatus 100 andthe processing head 102.

The distance (stroke amount) between both end positions of reciprocatingof the processing head 102 in the left-right direction of FIG. 1 is, forexample, 0.3 m or more, and may be 1 m or more. For example, if theprocessing apparatus is a liquid crystal panel processing apparatus, theprocessing head has a maximum movement distance of 3 m or more. Further,although the example in which the whole movement range of the processinghead 102 is arranged only on one side as seen from the fixed end isshown in FIG. 1 , the processing head 102 may be configured to bemovable across the areas on both sides of the fixed end.

By the way, the processing apparatus 100 of FIG. 1 is an example of aprocessing apparatus, and the curved shape of the conduit support device1 can be arbitrarily set according to the configuration of theprocessing apparatus 100. Therefore, the shape of the conduit supportdevice 1 is not limited to a U shape as shown in FIG. 1 , i.e. a shapecomposed of two parallel straight parts and a curved part connectingthem. Also, the movement direction of the processing head 102 is notlimited to the horizontal direction. For example, a configuration inwhich the conduit support device 1 is composed of a horizontal part, aninclined part, and a curved part positioned between them, and theprocessing head 102 is positioned on one end side of the horizontalpart, and the horizontal part and the inclined part form an acute angleof, for example, 45°, and the processing head 102 moves obliquely upwardwhile the length of the horizontal part decreases can be considered.Also, it is possible to configure a conduit support device 1 in a Ushape or inverted U shape in which two straight parts extend in thevertical direction such that the processing head 102 moves in thevertical direction.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the basic configuration of theconduit support device 1. The conduit support device 1 includes aconduit 2, a support member 3, an accommodation member 4 (also referredto as a conduit bag or a protective bag), and an intermediate member 5(also referred to as a protective tool).

The conduit 2 is a kind of cable or tube, and is for conducting at leastone of groups composed of signals using electricity, light, or the like,energy such as electric power, gases, and liquids. The object to beconducted by the conduit 2 is appropriately determined according to theapparatus in which the conduit support device 1 is installed. Theconduit 2 has a first terminal 21 and a second terminal 22 at both ends,which are connected to two terminal connection parts of the processingapparatus such as a machining line whose positions relative to eachother change, respectively (FIG. 1 ).

As described above, the support member 3 is an elongated member forsupporting the conduit 2 in the state where it is curved in a U shapecomposed of two straight parts and a curved part connecting them inorder to maintain the stable connection between the apparatus such asthe processing apparatus 100 and the conduit 2 ((a) and (b) of FIG. 1 ).By using the support member 3, the shapes of the conduit 2, theaccommodation member 4, and the intermediate member 5 are restricted bythe deformation shape of the support member 3. Therefore, it becomespossible to maintain the stable connection between the conduit 2 and theapparatus such as the processing apparatus 100, even during repeatedreciprocating of the conduit support device 1. The support member 3 is,for example, a member composed of a plurality of fixed-shape parts, andjoint parts formed between the plurality of fixed-shape parts.

The accommodation member 4 includes a conduit accommodation part 41 foraccommodating the conduit 2, and a support member accommodation part 42formed along the conduit accommodation part 41 so as to accommodate thesupport member 3. The conduit accommodation part and the support memberaccommodation part have accommodation chambers inside. The accommodationchambers are cylindrical spaces extending along the longitudinaldirection of the conduit support device, and can accommodate one or moreconduits 2 or one or more support members 3. Since the accommodationmember 4 has the conduit accommodation part 41 and the support memberaccommodation part 42 to separately accommodate the conduit 2 and thesupport member 3, stable continuous operation becomes possible, and thereliability of the conduit support device 1 improves.

The number of conduit accommodation parts 41 may be one or more. Also,in the conduit support device 1 shown in FIG. 2 , the conduit 2 isprovided between two support members 3. Applications other than theconfiguration of FIG. 2 will be described in detail below.

The accommodation member 4 is made from a flexible sheet-like member.For example, a member having such flexibility that bending with acurvature radius of 3 cm is possible and such durability that damagesuch as breakage does not occur even though the bending/unbendingoperation between the curved shape and the straight shape is performed100,000 times is preferable. Also, it is preferable that theaccommodation member 4 should have such a barrier property that it doesnot substantially allow water to permeate. Also, from the point of viewof detectability in the event of breakage or contamination, it ispreferable that at least 90% of the area of the surface of theaccommodation member 4 should be formed in the same color and theaccommodation member should not have any pattern distinguishable by thenaked eye. For the same reason, it is preferable that its color shouldbe white, black, or any mixed color thereof, i.e. an achromatic color.

As examples of the material of the accommodation member 4,general-purpose plastics such as polyvinyl chloride resin (PVC),polyethylene resin (PE), polypropylene resin (PP), polystyrene resin(PS), and ABS resin (ABS), engineering plastics such as polymethylmethacrylate resin (PMMA), polyacetal resin (POM), ultra-high molecularweight polyethylene (UHPE), polyamide synthetic resin (PA, for example,PA66), and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), super engineering plasticssuch as liquid crystal polymer (LCP), polyphenylene sulfide resin (PPS),polyether ether ketone resin (PEEK), fluorine resin (for example,polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)), thermosetting plastics such aspolyurethane, and so on can be taken. As PTFE, stretched ePTFE (expandedpolytetrafluorethylene) also can be used. PTFE has the advantage ofbeing more rigid as compared to ePTFE, and ePTFE has the advantage ofbeing more flexible as compared to PTFE. As PE, HDPE (high-densitypolyethylene) has advantages such as low price and low friction.

The accommodation member can also be composed of a plurality of layers.For example, the exposed layers on the surfaces may be composed oflayers containing a fluorine resin with an excellent sliding property asa main component, and the inner layer may be composed of a layercontaining, as a main component, a resin having elasticity higher thanthat of the fluorine resin. By using a plurality of layers, for example,by configuring a three-layer structure having a middle layer made ofpolyurethane and interposed between an inner layer and an outer layerformed of ePTFE, it becomes possible to suppress the cost while addingfunctions to each layer, and it is possible to add characteristics suchas sliding and low friction.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the conduit support device 1 according to theembodiment of the present invention has the intermediate member 5between the support member 3 and the accommodation member 4. Thisintermediate member 5 suppresses contact between the support member 3and the inner surface of the accommodation member 4. Therefore, it ispossible to provide the conduit support device 1 capable of suppressingdamage of the accommodation member 4 attributable to friction with thesupport member 3 during the operation of the conduit support device 1and having high reliability.

By the way, it is preferable that the intermediate member 5 should beformed over the entire length of the support member 3; however, it doesnot necessarily need to be formed over the entire length of the supportmember 3. The intermediate member may be formed in at least a part of anarea where bending of the support member 3 occurs during the operationof the processing apparatus 100, and it is particularly preferable thatthe intermediate member should be formed over the entire area wherebending of the support member 3 occurs during the operation. Also, it ispreferable that in these formation areas, the integral intermediatemember 5 should be formed continuously in the longitudinal direction ofthe support member 3.

With reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , the intermediate member 5 of theembodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail. InFIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , for explanation, the accommodation member 4 which isdisposed on the outer periphery of the intermediate member 5 is omitted.

In FIG. 3 , as the intermediate member 5, a bag-like member (a tube) isused. If the bag-like member is used as the intermediate member 5, evenin the case where the support member 3 has a partially protrudingstructure, the outer periphery of the support member 3 including theprotruding structure part is covered, so it is possible to stabilize andsuppress friction of the accommodation member 4.

This conduit support device 1 can be obtained by forming first theintermediate member 5 over a predetermined length of the support member3 so as to cover the outer periphery of the support member 3, and thenstoring the support member 3 with the intermediate member 5 in theaccommodation member 4. Formation of the intermediate member 5 on thesupport member 3 may be insertion of the support member 3 into a tubeformed in a pipe shape or a bag shape. Alternatively, the intermediatemember may be formed by winding a belt-like sheet so as to cover theouter periphery of the support member 3 and joining an end area of thesheet to another area of the sheet. For example, the intermediate member5 may be formed by disposing a long side of the belt-like sheet inparallel with the longitudinal direction of the support member 3, andthen winding the sheet around the outer periphery of the support member3. Alternatively, the intermediate member 5 may be formed by interposingthe support member 3 between two or more belt-like sheets and joiningthe belt-like sheets at both ends.

As the pipe-like or bag-like member for forming the intermediate member5, a shrinkable tube may be used. In this case, it is possible todispose the intermediate member 5 around the support member 3 byinserting the support member 3 into the bag-like member and shrinkingthe bag-like member. As the shrinkable tube, a heat-shrinkable tubewhich shrinks by heating is particularly preferable. In the case ofusing a heat-shrinkable tube as the intermediate member 5, it ispossible to improve the adhesion between the support member 3 and theintermediate member 5, so occurrence of creases on the inner peripheryof rotation bending is suppressed without obstructing the bendingoperation.

On the surface of the support member 3 shown in FIG. 4 , a belt-likecovering material is formed as the intermediate member 5 in a spiralshape around the support member 3. Since the intermediate member 5 isformed in the spiral shape, even in the case where the stretchability ofthe material constituting the intermediate member 5 is low, the windingpitch of the spiral changes, so it is possible to easily follow changein the shape of the support member 3, such as bending.

This intermediate member 5 can be formed by inserting the support member3 into a belt-like covering material formed in the spiral shape inadvance. Alternatively, the intermediate member can be formed by windinga belt-like covering material softened by heating or the like in aspiral shape around the support member 3 and hardening it by cooling orthe like to fix the shape. In the case of using a belt-like coveringmaterial wound around the support member 3 as the intermediate member 5,it becomes possible to secure flexibility as compared to the case ofcovering the whole of the support member 3.

In the case of forming the intermediate member 5 with a spiral coveringmaterial as described above, covering may be performed such that whenthe support member 3 is in the straight state, there is no gap in thespiral covering material, or covering may be performed in view of easeof bending such that there are some gaps in the spiral coveringmaterial.

It is preferable that the intermediate member 5 should be more flexiblethan the accommodation member 4. For example, the flexural modulus ofthe intermediate member 5 may be set to be smaller than the flexuralmodulus of the accommodation member 4. In this case, even when theintermediate member 5 is introduced, it is possible to suppressdeterioration of the bending operation or extending operation of theconduit support device.

The stretchability of the intermediate member 5 may be higher than thestretchability of the accommodation member 4. For example, the tensilemodulus of the intermediate member 5 may be smaller than the tensilemodulus of the accommodation member 4. In this case, it is possible torestrain the intermediate member 5 from obstructing the bendingoperation of the conduit support device by stretching on the outerperiphery side of bending, and formation of creases of the intermediatemember 5 on the inner periphery side of bending also is suppressed, andbiting of the joint parts of the support member 3 and so on also aresuppressed.

At least the surface of the intermediate member 5 on the outer side (theside abutting on the accommodation member 4) may satisfy one or more ofhigher smoothness, a smaller friction coefficient, and/or lower surfaceroughness (for example, arithmetic average roughness Ra) as compared tothe surface of the accommodation member 4 on the inner side (the sideabutting on the intermediate member 5). If the intermediate member 5 hasthis configuration, it is possible to reduce restrictions on theconfiguration and selection of the material of the accommodation member4, and it is possible to provide a conduit support device having highreliability.

When the thickness of the area of the accommodation member 4 abutting onthe support member 3 is referred to as Tb, it is preferable that thethickness Tm of the intermediate member 5 should be equal to or largerthan 0.6 times Tb, and it is more preferable that Tm should be equal toor larger than 0.8 times Tb. Since the intermediate member 5 has apredetermined thickness, even if the surface of the support member 3 hasa large uneven shape, it is possible to absorb at least a part of theunevenness by the thickness of the intermediate member 5, and it ispossible to suppress damage of the accommodation member 4 or theintermediate member 5 attributable to friction.

It is preferable that the thickness Tm of the intermediate member 5should be equal to or smaller than 1.5 times Tb, and it is morepreferable that Tm should be equal to or smaller than 1.2 times Tb. Atthe time of bending, in the accommodation member, a difference inperiphery length between the inner periphery surface and the outerperiphery surface attributable to the diameter difference occurs. Thisdifference in periphery length becomes a cause of wear and creasesthrough the bending operation and the extending operation. In the casewhere the thickness Tm of the intermediate member 5 is too large, sincethe difference in diameter between the inner periphery surface and outerperiphery surface of the accommodation member becomes large, thedifference in periphery length also becomes large. In contrast withthis, if the thickness of the intermediate member 5 is restricted withinthe above-mentioned range, it is possible to restrain the difference inperiphery length between the inner periphery surface and outer peripherysurface of the intermediate member from becoming too large.

As examples of the material of the intermediate member 5,general-purpose plastics such as polyvinyl chloride resin (PVC),polyethylene resin (PE), polypropylene resin (PP), polystyrene resin(PS), ABS resin (ABS), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) can betaken.

As for the material of the intermediate member 5, similarly to theaccommodation member 4, materials having wear resistance, low frictionalproperties, and chemical stability are preferable. Therefore, it ispreferable to apply a member identical to the accommodation member asmentioned above, for example, PTFE or the like. However, also when theabove-mentioned general-purpose plastics are appropriately selectedaccording to the demand characteristics of each member, it is possibleto obtain a conduit support device having equivalent or bettercharacteristics at a lower cost.

In the present embodiment, the support member 3 and the intermediatemember 5 are not bonded, and the intermediate member 5 and theaccommodation member 4 are not bonded. Preferably, the support member 3and the intermediate member 5 are configured such that sliding can occurtherebetween, and the intermediate member 5 and the accommodation member4 also are configured such that sliding can occur therebetween. Whenpaying attention to a specific area of the conduit support device 1, thespecific area repeats the bending operation and the extending operationwith the operation of the processing apparatus 100. At this time, withthe bending operation and/or extending operation of the conduit supportdevice 1, a relative positional deviation occurs between the supportmember 3 and the accommodation member 4 due to the difference in thediameter of bending. In the conventional configuration having nointermediate member 5, sometimes, the deviation between theaccommodation member 4 and the support member 3 caused long-distancesliding between the accommodation member 4 and the support member 3, andbecame a cause of excessive wear. In contrast with this, if the supportmember 3 and the intermediate member 5 are configured such that slidingcan occur therebetween, and the intermediate member 5 and theaccommodation member 4 are configured such that sliding can occurtherebetween, it is possible to separately cause deviations at the twointerfaces, so it is possible to reduce the amount of sliding at eachinterface, and it becomes possible to suppress wear.

This sliding can be intentionally increased or decreased by design. Asan example of a preferred configuration related to sliding, aconfiguration in which sliding between the outer surface of theintermediate member 5 and the inner surface of the accommodation member4 is larger than sliding between the inner surface of the intermediatemember 5 and the outer surface of the support member 3 can be taken. Ifsliding between the outer surface of the intermediate member 5 and theinner surface of the accommodation member 4 is large, occurrence ofcreases on the inner periphery side of bending is suppressed withoutobstructing the bending operation.

The intermediate member 5 may be made of a plurality of layers. Bycombining a plurality of layers, it is possible to add functions such ashaving low friction characteristic to the surface while securingflexibility.

By the way, the intermediate member 5 may be disposed not only betweenthe support member 3 and the accommodation member 4 but also between theconduit 2 and the accommodation member 4. In this case, it is possibleto prevent wear between the accommodation member 4 and the conduit 2,and breakage.

Examples of the support member 3 to which the embodiment of the presentinvention can be applied and which is used in the conduit support device1 are shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 11 . FIG. 5 to FIG. 7 show an example towhich the embodiment of the present invention can be applied, and FIG. 8to FIG. 10 , and FIG. 11 show another example.

The support member 3 is configured such that in a predetermineddirection, it maintains the straight shape such that further deformationis restricted, and in the opposite direction, it can be bent up to apredetermined curvature. The support member 3 includes a plurality offixed-shape parts, and joint parts formed between the plurality offixed-shape parts. The support member 3 is bent at a number of jointparts, thereby being curved in a polygonal shape. Here, by making theinternal angle of the polygonal shape sufficiently large, it is possibleto form a curve approximate to a smooth circle. The internal angle is120 degrees or larger, preferably, 150 degrees or larger. Specifically,the support member 3 is configured in a chain shape by stacking abouttwo or three metal plates, each of which has two connection holes, inthe thickness direction and connecting the connection holes such thatthey are shifted in the longitudinal direction of the support member 3.Since the relative angles and positions of adjacent fixed-shape partsare restricted by contact with each other on the basis of the shapes ofthe fixed-shape parts, maintenance and regulation of the straight shapeand curved shape of the support member 3 are achieved.

With respect to the example of FIG. 5 to FIG. 7 , the support member 3shown in FIG. 7 is configured by stacking three plates in the thicknessdirection of the plates (the traverse direction relative to thelongitudinal direction which is the movement direction of the supportmember 3) such that each inner plate 31 as shown in FIG. 5 is disposedin the middle and outer plates 32 as shown in FIG. 6 are disposed onboth sides thereof. The inner plates 31 and the outer plates 32 areformed to have approximately rectangular shapes. Each inner plate 31 hasconnection holes 311 and 312, and abutting surfaces 31 a, 31 b, 31 c,and 31 d to abut on adjacent inner plates 31. The abutting surface 31 aof each inner plate 31 abuts on the abutting surface 31 b of an adjacentinner plate 31, so the support member 3 cannot be deformed upward (onthe drawing sheet). As for deformation in the opposite direction, sincethe abutting surface 31 c of each inner plate 31 abuts on the abuttingsurface 31 d of an adjacent inner plate 31, the support member 3 cannotbe deformed beyond a predetermined curved shape.

Similarly, the outer plates 32 have connection holes 321 and 322, andabutting surfaces 32 a, 32 b, 32 c, and 32 d, and since the abuttingsurfaces 32 a, 32 b, 32 c, and 32 d abut on each other, the deformationshape of the support member 3 is restricted. Into the connection holes311 and 312 of the inner plates 31 and the connection holes 321 and 322of the outer plates 32, pins (not shown in the drawings) are fit. Theconnection holes 311, 312, 321, and 322 with the pins fitted serve asrotatable joint parts, whereby the inner plates 31 and the outer plates32 are connected to each other and the bendable support member 3 isconfigured. By the way, the inner plates 31 in the middle, and the outerplates 32 on both sides have the same shape; however, the sizes of theconnection holes 311 and 312 and the connection holes 321 and 322 areslightly different. As the features of this example, it can be citedthat manufacturing and assembling are easy since the shapes arerelatively simple rectangular shapes, and predetermined performance inwhich bending is possible only in one direction is easily achieved.

As the material of the metal plates, carbon steel such as S45C can beapplied. Alternatively, special steel obtained by adding one or moreelements of a group consisting of silicon, manganese, nickel, cobalt,chromium, tungsten, and molybdenum to carbon steel may be applied. Thesematerials have high mechanical strength, and make it easy to achievelong stroke of the support device. Also, it is possible to applystainless steel to achieve both of strength and corrosion resistance.

As the material of the metal plates, light alloys containing aluminum,titanium, or magnesium as a main component may also be applied.

In FIG. 8 to FIG. 10 , another example of the support member 3 to whichthe embodiment of the present invention can be applied is shown. Thissupport member 3 is of the same type as that disclosed in PatentLiterature 1 presented in the column of BACKGROUND ART. FIG. 8 shows ablock member 35 which is disposed on a flexible material 36 and is anon-interlocking solid, and FIG. 9 shows a state in which the supportmember 3 includes a straight shape and a curved shape. FIG. 10 is anenlarged view of the straight part. Each block member 35 has abuttingsurfaces 35 a and 35 b. The abutting surface 35 a of each block member35 abuts on the abutting surface 35 b of an adjacent block member 35, sothe support member 3 cannot be deformed in a downward convex directionin FIG. 10 . Therefore, the straight shape is maintained. Meanwhile, inthe opposite direction, the support member 3 has no abutting surfacesfor restricting the curved shape. Therefore, in the case of the supportmember 3 of the present example, unlike the above-mentioned example,bending in one direction (the downward convex direction in FIG. 10 ) isrestricted to the straight shape, but the curved shape in the oppositedirection is not restricted. The support member 3 has advantages thatdue to the simple structure, manufacturing is easy and the supportmember is lightweight.

In FIG. 11 , another example of the support member 3 to which theembodiment of the present invention can be applied is shown. (a) of FIG.11 is a front view of a straight part, and (b) of FIG. 11 is a frontview of a curved part. This support member 3 has a plurality of blockmembers 37 on a flexible material 36. The flexible material is madefrom, for example, a plate spring made of stainless steel, and the blockmembers are made of, for example, a resin such as a liquid crystalpolymer. In FIG. 11 , although the flexible material 36 is blocked bythe block members 37 and cannot be seen directly, at the position shownin (a) of FIG. 11 , the flexible material extends in the longitudinaldirection of the support member 3. The block members 37 of the presentexample have first abutting surfaces 37 a and 37 b to form pairs, andthey abut on each other between adjacent block members so as to suppressbending in a predetermined direction, thereby maintaining the straightshape. The block members 37 further have second abutting surfaces 37 cand 37 d to form pairs, and can suppress breakage attributable tofatigue of the flexible material 36 and so on by regulating bending suchthat bending in the direction opposite to the predetermined directionbeyond predetermined bending does not occur, i.e. the curvature radiusdoes not become smaller than a predetermined curvature radius. Thissupport member 3 has a long lifespan, and is of the same type as thatdisclosed in Patent Literature, International Publication No.WO2019/142929A1.

Examples of application of the embodiment of the present invention areshown in FIG. 12 , FIG. 13 , and FIG. 14 . As described above, theaccommodation member 4 includes the conduit accommodation part 41 foraccommodating the conduit 2, the support member accommodation parts 42for accommodating the support member 3, and the intermediate member 5formed between the support member 3 and the accommodation member 4.

The example shown in FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of an example inwhich a conduit accommodation part 41 is disposed in the center of theaccommodation member 4, and on both sides thereof, support memberaccommodation parts 42 for accommodating support members 3 are provided.The example shown in FIG. 13 is a modification in which a support memberaccommodation part 42 for accommodating a support member 3 is disposedin the center of an accommodation member 4, and on both sides thereof,conduit accommodation parts 41 are provided. FIG. 14 is an example inwhich accommodation members 4 are combined into two stages. In this way,the embodiment of the present invention can be applied to accommodationmembers 4 and conduit support devices 1 having arbitrary arrangementconfigurations.

The intermediate member 5 may be formed not only between the supportmember 3 and the accommodation member 4 but also between the conduit 2and the accommodation member 4. However, since the surfaces of conduitsare generally flatter and softer than the surfaces of support members,it is easy to ensure the reliability of the conduit accommodation parts41 as compared to the support member accommodation parts 42. Excessiveintroduction of intermediate members 5 increases the weight of theentire conduit support device, and may increase the deformationresistance, so it is preferable that any intermediate member 5 shouldnot be formed between a part or the whole of a conduit 2 and anaccommodation member 4.

With reference to FIG. 15 to FIG. 20 , another embodiment of the conduitsupport device 1 will be described. In these drawings, the lower side ofeach drawing is the inner periphery side of bending during use of theconduit support device 1 (see FIG. 1 for instance), and the upper sideof each drawing is the outer periphery side of bending. In other words,the conduit support device 1 shown in the drawings can be bent in theupward convex direction of the drawings; however, bending in thedownward convex direction of the drawings is regulated by the action ofthe support member 3 such that the straight shape is maintained.

(a) of FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the conduit support device 1of another embodiment as seen from its longitudinal direction, and (b)of FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of the conduit support device 1 at theposition of A-A of (a) of FIG. 15 as seen from the front, and is a viewillustrating an overview of the positional relation of the supportmember 3, the accommodation member 4, and the intermediate member 5 inthe height direction.

As shown in the drawing, the accommodation member 4 includes an innersheet 4 a positioned on the inner periphery side of bending and an outersheet 4 b positioned on the outer periphery side of bending. Between theinner sheet 4 a and the outer sheet 4 b, an accommodation chamber CR isformed, and in the accommodation chamber CR, the support member 3 isinserted. Further, the conduit support device 1 has one or more conduitsstored in areas of the accommodation member 4 not shown in the drawing.Between the support member 3 and the accommodation member 4, theintermediate member 5 is formed.

Here, the example in which support members 3 including flexiblematerials 36, as shown in FIG. 11 , are combined as support members 3 isshown; however, the support members are not limited thereto, and forexample, other support members 3 shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 10 , andsupport members having other structures and having the same functions asthose of them may be freely combined.

In the present embodiment, the conduit support device 1 includes an areahaving the intermediate member 5 between the support member 3 and theaccommodation member 4 and an area having no intermediate member 5between the support member 3 and the accommodation member 4. Morespecifically, the support member 3 of the conduit support device 1includes an area positioned on the inner periphery side of bending ofthe conduit support device 1 and having the intermediate member 5, andincludes an area positioned on the outer periphery side of bending andhaving no intermediate member 5. By having this configuration, it ispossible to obtain the conduit support device with high reliability inwhich wear of the accommodation member 4 is significantly suppressed.

Hereinafter, the reason why wear of the accommodation member 4 issignificantly suppressed in the present embodiment will be described.

In the curved-shape area of the conduit support device 1, the length ofthe support member 3 along the support member becomes smaller on theinner periphery side of the support member than on the outer peripheryside. The reason why this length difference occurs is that not only thethickness of the support member 3 (the size in the upward and downwarddirection of the drawing) but also the diameter of the outer peripheryside increases. Further, it is difficult to absorb the difference inlength between the inner and outer peripheries of the support member 3only by expansion and contraction of the accommodation member 4, and asa result, on the inner periphery side of the accommodation member 4,creases, i.e. corrugated patterns are formed to absorb the excesslength. The inventors of this application found that these corrugatedpatterns may be fixed as a bending habit of the accommodation member 4during repetition of bending and extension.

Further, they thought that if the position of an area abutting on thepeaks of the corrugated patterns (areas including the vertexes of theshapes protruding toward the support member 3) is fixed, since thecorresponding area repeatedly comes into contact with the innerperiphery side of the support member 3 more strongly than the other areaof the accommodation member 4 does, wear is likely to progress and thereliability of the accommodation member is reduced.

For this reason, the inventors of this application thought that it wouldbe possible to further improve the reliability of the accommodationmember by suppressing formation of fixed corrugated patterns. Sincecorrugated patterns are caused by the thickness of the support member 3as mentioned above, it can also be considered to reduce the thickness ofthe support member 3; however, since the thickness of the support memberis closely related to the mechanical strength of the support member,simply reducing the thickness causes a lack of strength of the supportmember, and causes problems such as a problem that it becomes impossibleto secure the amount of stroke.

Even in the case of thinning the intermediate member 5, similarly to thecase of reducing the thickness of the support member 3, althoughsuppression of formation of corrugated patterns is expected, simplyrestricting the thickness of the intermediate member 5 becomesrestrictions on design or material selection.

In the present embodiment, the conduit support device 1 includes thearea which is positioned on the inner periphery side of the supportmember where corrugated patterns as mentioned above can be formed andhas the intermediate member 5, and includes the area positioned on theouter side of bending and having no intermediate member 5. In thisconfiguration, since the intermediate member 5 is formed on the innerperiphery side where the influence of formation of corrugated patternsattributable to excess length of the accommodation member and wearattributable thereto is large, the reliability of that area improves,and since the area having no intermediate member 5 is included on theouter periphery side where the influence of such wear is small, it ispossible to suppress an increase in the height of the support memberincluding the intermediate member, and reduce actualization ofcorrugated patterns.

As mentioned above, the configuration including the area having theintermediate member 5 and positioned on the inner periphery side of thesupport member, and the area having no intermediate member 5 andpositioned on the outer side of the bending can suppress actualizationof corrugated patterns even in the case where the intermediate member 5is thick, so it is particularly effective when the thickness orformation height of the intermediate member 5 is large. Typically, it ispreferable to apply this configuration in the case where the thicknessof the intermediate member is larger than the thickness of the area ofthe accommodation member 4 abutting on the support member 5.

The intermediate member 5 has a surface to abut on the support member 3and a surface to abut on the accommodation member on its front and back.The intermediate member 5 is configured such that the intermediatemember and the accommodation member can slide on each other at theinterface. Further, the intermediate member 5 may be configured suchthat the intermediate member and the support member 3 can slide on eachother at the interface. It is preferable that the intermediate member 5should be configured such that when the intermediate member has aconfiguration in which sliding occurs on the front and back thereof, theamount of sliding on the accommodation member is larger than the amountof sliding on the support member.

The conduit support device 1 may include a buffer layer BL between thesupport member 3 and the intermediate member 5. In the presentembodiment, the buffer layer BL is configured as an air layer such thatdeformation of the intermediate member 5 in the upward and downwarddirection of the drawing becomes easy, whereby it is possible to weakencontact of the accommodation member 4 with the peak areas of corrugatedpatterns.

Further, it is preferable that the buffer layer BL should extendcontinuously in the longitudinal direction of the support member, asshown in (b) of FIG. 15 . According to this configuration, it ispossible to alleviate the influence of shape change of the supportmember 3 which is an articulated member according to bending orextending and local shape change of the support member 3 toward theaccommodation member.

It is preferable that in a cross section of the support member as seenfrom the longitudinal direction as shown in (a) of FIG. 15 , the lowersurface of the intermediate member 5 (when assuming a virtual circleincluding the curved shape of the conduit support device 1 as a part ofthe circumference, a surface of the surfaces of the intermediate member5 facing the center of the virtual circle) should be composed of only acurved surface projecting downward. Further, it is preferable that aminimum curvature radius r1 of the curvature included in the curvedsurface projecting downward should be larger than a minimum curvatureradius r2 of a curved surface included in the lower surface of thesupport member 3 and projecting downward (when assuming a virtual circleincluding the curved shape of the conduit support device 1 as a part ofthe circumference, a surface of the surfaces of the support member 3facing the center of the virtual circle). According to thisconfiguration, it is possible to increase the contact area between thesupport member 3 and the accommodation member 4, thereby restraininglocal hitting from becoming strong.

As this intermediate member 5, a member configured such that the crosssection has the shape of alphabet C by slashing an arbitrary position onthe circumference of a tube made of a resin along the longitudinaldirection of the tube or cutting out a part can be used. From theposition of the tube slashed or cut out, i.e. the notch, the supportmember 3 is fit into the tube, whereby it is possible to form an areahaving the intermediate member 5 and an area having no intermediatemember 5 at arbitrary positions of the support member. As the materialfor forming the tube, resins having hardness lower than that of thematerial for forming the support member 3 are suitable, and the materialof the tube may be PTFE, or may be ePTFE which is PTFE expanded in thelongitudinal direction.

It is preferable that the formation height of this tube should be equalto or larger than 20% of the height of the support member 3 (the size inthe upward and downward direction of the drawing) as shown by areference symbol “5u” in (b) of FIG. 15 , and it is particularlypreferable that the formation height should be equal to or larger than50%. By securing a predetermined fitting amount as described above, itis possible to restrain the intermediate member 5 from dropping out ofthe support member 3. Further, in the tube having the notch parallel tothe longitudinal direction of the tube, even in the case where theformation height of the tube is large, since the width of the notchchanges according to deformation of the support member 3 attributable tosliding, it is possible to maintain smooth sliding of the supportmember.

The tube may be fixed to the support member 3 with an adhesive or thelike. Even in the case, it is possible to maintain smooth sliding of thesupport member by restricting adhesive-layer formation areas. Forexample, a configuration is possible in which as seen in across-sectional view, between the lower surface of the support member 3and the intermediate member 5, an adhesive layer is formed, and betweenthe side surfaces of the support member 3 (surfaces facing the ends ofthe tube) and the intermediate member 5, any adhesive layer is notformed. In other words, a configuration is preferable in which the sidesurfaces of the support member 3 as seen in a cross-sectional view andthe areas of the tube around the notch are not fixed with respect toeach other.

With reference to FIG. 16 , the structure of the accommodation member 4in an area B surrounded by a broken line in (a) of FIG. 15 will bedescribed. In the present embodiment, the accommodation member 4 isconfigured by bonding the inner sheet 4 a and the outer sheet 4 b. Eachof the inner sheet and the outer sheet includes an inner layer IL, anouter layer OL, and a middle layer ML formed between the inner layer andthe outer layer. The inner layer IL faces the accommodation chamber CR,and the outermost surface thereof comes into contact with the conduit 2,the support member 3, and/or the intermediate member 5 inserted in theaccommodation chamber. The outer layer OL is exposed to the installationatmosphere of the conduit support device, and a part thereof may comeinto contact with the surface of the housing of the processing apparatus100 (FIG. 1 ). For the inner layer IL and/or the outer layer OL,materials with excellent abrasion resistance and sliding properties, forexample, ePTFE can be applied. For the middle layer ML, materials havingflexibility and stretchability better than the inner layer IL and/or theouter layer OL has, for example, polyurethane can be applied.

The accommodation member 4 has a plurality of accommodation chambers CR.

The individual accommodation chambers CR are defined by joint areas ARwhere the inner sheet 4 a and the outer sheet 4 b are joined. Morespecifically, a space formed in a non-joint area between two joint areasAR by bulging the inner sheet 4 a and the outer sheet 4 b outward can beused as an accommodation chamber CR. The joint areas AR are formed alongthe longitudinal direction of the accommodation member so as to extendin parallel to each other. As a result, in the accommodation member 4,the accommodation chambers CR are formed along the longitudinaldirection of the accommodation member, such that they extend in parallelto each other, and conduits and support members can be inserted into theaccommodation chambers CR. For example, the joint areas AR can be formedby applying an adhesive between the inner layer IL of the inner sheet 4a and the inner layer IL of the outer sheet 4 b and bonding both layers,but may also be formed by other methods such as welding using heating.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 16 , at the positions corresponding tothe joint areas AR, the inner layer IL is not formed, and the middlelayer ML of the inner sheet 4 a and the middle layer ML of the outersheet 4 b are bonded with no inner layer IL therebetween. In this case,it is possible to secure adhesion strength, and it also is possible toachieve smooth operation by absorbing stress attributable to thebehavior difference during sliding between the accommodation chambercontaining the conduit 2 and the accommodation chambers containing thesupport members 3, even if the strength of the material applied to theinner layer IL is high. This structure can be obtained by preparing aninner sheet and an outer sheet having parts exposing the middle layersML without no inner layer IL and joining the middle layers ML. Forexample, the middle layers may be thermally welded by rising thetemperature to the melting point of the material forming the middlelayers ML by local heating, or it is possible to apply a solvent capableof melting the middle layers ML and bond them.

Referring to FIG. 15 again, the support member 3 may include a trappinglayer TL formed on the surface so as to trap particles generated insidethe accommodation member.

The conduit support device 1 having the accommodation member withimproved reliability can be used continuously for a long period ascompared to the related art. The conduit support device 1 having a longlifespan can withstand at least 2 million times of reciprocating, andcan withstand 10 million times of reciprocating depending on theconditions, without any problem; however, fine particles includingabrasion powder of the support member 3 and the accommodation member 4,which is generated by sliding which is repeated for a long period(hereinafter, particles will be referred to simply as dust) may become aproblem. In particular, since the support member is made of a materialhaving high mechanical strength, particles generated in the form ofdropping off from the support member or the like may accelerate wear ofthe support member and other members.

With respect to this, the conduit support device 1 includes the trappinglayer TL. As a result, even if particles are generated inside theaccommodation member, the generated particles are trapped by thetrapping layer, so it is possible to suppress acceleration of wear andit is possible to discharge the dust to the outside of the accommodationmember.

The configuration of the trapping layer TL is not limited as long as itcan trap particles coming into contact with the surface, and forexample, an adhesive substance can be applied. As the adhesivesubstance, a substance may be selected from rubber-based, acrylic, orsilicon-based adhesives, depending on the usage environment and requiredcharacteristics. The trapping layer may be formed on the surface of thesupport member in the form of coating, transfer, or the like, or aconduit support device having a trapping layer may be configured byforming a trapping layer in one of various members to constitute theconduit support device and assembling it.

The support member 3 includes an area having the trapping layer TL, andan area having no trapping layer. Especially, in the case where theadhesion of the trapping layer is high, sliding or operation of thesupport member may deteriorate, or sliding of the support member and theaccommodation member may deteriorate; however, if the formation area ofthe trapping layer TL is limited, it is possible to achieve smoothoperation of the conduit support device while giving dust trappingperformance. A trapping layer TL may be formed, for example, at theposition indicated by TL(1) in (a) of FIG. 15 , i.e. in the internalarea of a valley-shaped part formed by the side surfaces of the supportmember 3 and the ends of the intermediate layer 5 as seen in across-sectional view along the longitudinal direction of the supportmember 3. Alternatively, trapping layers may be formed at the positionsindicated by TL(2) in (b) of FIG. 15 , i.e. in areas of the surfaces ofthe plurality of block members constituting the support member 3 whichface the internal spaces of the plurality of block members and do notcome into contact with other block members.

It is preferable that trapping layers TL should not be formed in areaswhere the support member and the accommodation member come into contactand areas where the block members abuts on each other. It is believedthat even in the case where the trapping layers are formed in limitedareas as mentioned above, as particles moves inside the accommodationmember, they would be trapped by any of the trapping layers.

The trapping layer may be made of a layer made of a semisolid substancehaving a thickness of 10 μm (micrometers) or greater. Here, a semisolidsubstance indicates a substance which has a fixed shape at an ordinarytemperature but is plastically deformed by a very small external forceequivalent to, for example, a force which is applied when lightlypushing it with a fingertip. In the case of forming the trapping layersof such a substance, an adhesive property is not necessarily required.In the case of having such a trapping layer on the surface of thesupport member 3, particles such as dust are attached to the trappinglayer, and is taken into the trapping layer by receiving external stressfrom the accommodation member and so on. In the case where the thicknessis smaller than 10 μm, some particles are not taken into the trappinglayer depending on the particle diameters, and detachment after trappingis likely to occur. Even in the case where liquid properties are toostrong, the same is true, and sufficient dust trapping performance isnot obtained.

Although the semisolid substance is not limited, for example, grease issuitable. Particularly, silicon oil grease obtained by adding athickener to silicon oil is effective even in terms of stability and soon. Although the hardness of grease can be adjusted by the amount andtype of thickener, for example, it is preferable that grease should havesuch hardness that worked penetration becomes equal to or lower than 400at 25° C., and it is more preferable that grease should have suchhardness that worked penetration becomes equal to or lower than 300 at25° C. The penetration of grease can be measured by, for example, themethod defined in JIS K 2220. Meanwhile, if grease is too hard,particles are unlikely to be taken into the trapping layers, so it ispreferable that the worked penetration should be equal to or higher thanat least 80, and worked penetration equal to or higher than 150 isparticularly preferable. As examples of grease having such hardness,41660 of SUPERLUBE (registered as a trademark) and so on can be taken.

In the case of using grease as trapping layers, it is possible toachieve trapping of particles and improvement of lubricity of slidingparts at the same time. Above all, the concern that the operation of theconduit support device would deteriorate due to adhesion between membersis little. Therefore, it is possible to increase the trapping-layerformation area on the surface of the support member as compared toadhesive substances. However, for example, if a trapping layer is formedon the surface of the support member to abut on the block member, thereis a risk that the motion range of the support member will change due totrapped particles. For this reason, it is preferable that the trappinglayers TL should be formed in the internal areas of valley-shaped partsformed by the surfaces of the support members 3 and the ends of theintermediate layers 5, or areas of the surfaces of the plurality ofblock members constituting the support member 3 which face the internalspaces of the plurality of block members and do not come into contactwith other block members.

Meanwhile, it is preferable that trapping layers TL should not be formedin areas where the support member and the accommodation member come intocontact and areas where the block members abuts on each other. By theway, the case where trapping layers TL are not formed is not limited tothe case where grease is not applied, and may include the case where thecoating is made thinner than that in the area for forming the trappinglayers TL such that trapping performance is restricted.

(a) of FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of a conduit support device 1of a further example as seen from the longitudinal direction thereof,and (b) of FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of the conduit support device1 of (a) of FIG. 17 as seen from the front, and is a view illustratingan overview of the positional relation of the support member 3, theaccommodation member 4, and the intermediate member 5 in the heightdirection.

The conduit support device 1 of the present embodiment can have the sameconfiguration as that of each conduit support device 1 mentioned above,except that the configuration of the intermediate member 5 is partiallydifferent.

Also in the present embodiment, the support member 3 of the conduitsupport device 1 includes an area having the intermediate member 5 andpositioned on the inner periphery side of bending of the conduit supportdevice 1, and includes an area having no intermediate member 5 andpositioned on the outer periphery side of bending. Further, theintermediate member 5 of the present embodiment is fixed on the supportmember 3. The intermediate member 5 includes, for example, a body layerand an adhesive layer, and is bonded to the bottom surface of thesupport member 3 via the adhesive layer. The adhesive layer is formedall over one surface of the body layer, and can be stably fixed on thebottom surface of the support member 3. The body layer may contain, forexample, a fluorine resin such as PTFE, and the adhesive layer maycontain a silicon resin. It is preferable to apply a non-hardenablelayer as the adhesive layer, and it is particularly preferable that thethickness of the adhesive layer should be larger than the thickness ofthe body layer.

A conduit support device 1 having an intermediate member 5 fixed on asupport member 3 can be easily obtained by attaching a commerciallyavailable tape to the bottom surface of the self-support member 3. Asexamples of suitable tapes, a NITOFLON ((registered as a trademark)adhesive tape and so on can be taken.

In the present embodiment, the intermediate member 5 may be formed so asto cover the side surface of the support member 3. For example, theintermediate member may be formed up to the height indicated by 5 u inFIG. 17 . However, if the intermediate member 5 having the adhesivelayer is formed up to a high position of the support member, itobstructs the sliding operation of the support member or damage of theintermediate member occurs. For this reason, it is preferable that theformation height of the intermediate member 5 should be equal to orsmaller than 30% of the height of the support member 3 (the size in theupward and downward direction in the drawing), and it is particularlypreferable that the formation height should be equal to or smaller than20%.

In the present embodiment, if the intermediate member 5 is thick,expansion and contraction of the intermediate member is restricted, orthe intermediate member is likely to peel off, particularly, the sidesurface area of the support member by an external force attributable tocontact with the accommodation member, etc. Therefore, it is preferablethat the thickness of the intermediate member 5 should be smaller thanthe thickness of the inner sheet 4 a of the accommodation member.

Subsequently, the inventors studied a configuration in which contact ofthe accommodation member 4 with the peak areas of corrugated patterns isweakened by the structure of the accommodation member 4. FIG. 18 shows astill further example of the conduit support device 1, and is across-sectional view of the conduit support device 1 as seen from thelongitudinal direction. The conduit support device 1 of the presentembodiment can have the same configuration as that of each conduitsupport device 1 mentioned above, except that the configuration of theaccommodation member is partially different.

The accommodation member of the conduit support device 1 shown in thisdrawing includes an inner sheet 4 a to be positioned on the innerperiphery side during bending, and an outer sheet 4 b to be positionedon the outer periphery side during bending. The individual sheets arejoined to each other at least in a joint area AR1, a joint area AR2, anda joint area AR3, and in the accommodation chamber CR between the jointarea AR1 and the joint area AR2, a support member 3 is inserted, and inthe accommodation chamber CR between the joint area AR2 and the jointarea AR3, a conduit 2 is inserted. In the present embodiment, betweenthe support member 3 and the accommodation member, an intermediatemember 5 does not need to be necessarily formed; however, it goeswithout saying that if an intermediate member 5 is formed as shown inthe drawing, higher reliability is obtained.

In the present embodiment, the aspect ratio of the support member 3 asseen in a cross-sectional view (a value obtained by dividing the size ofthe support member 3 in the upward and downward direction of the drawingby the size of the support member in the left-right direction of thedrawing) is 0.7 or greater. A support member 3 having such a largeaspect ratio has excellent long stroke adaptability, but there is atendency that corrugated patterns on the accommodation member are likelyto be actualized. In contrast with this, in the present embodiment, thelength between the joint area AR1 and the joint area AR2 is set to belarger than the length between the joint area AR2 and the joint areaAR3. Preferably, the length between the joint area AR1 and the jointarea AR2 is equal to or larger than 1.2 times the length between thejoint area AR2 and the joint area AR3. Here, the length between jointareas means the length between the joint areas in a state where theaccommodation member 4 is flattened without inserting the support memberand the conduit in the accommodation chambers. In the case where thesupport member 3 has an intermediate member 3, the aspect ratio of thesupport member 3 may be calculated on the basis of the shape includingthe intermediate member 3.

It is also effective to increase the dimensional margin of theaccommodation chamber CR for accommodating the support member 3 having alarge aspect ratio relative to the support member. In a cross-sectionalview as seen from the longitudinal direction, the maximumcross-sectional area (hereinafter, referred to as SCR) can be calculatedas the area of a circle having the length of the inner periphery of theaccommodation chamber as the circumference. When the cross-sectionalarea of a figure represented by the contour of the support member asseen from the longitudinal direction is referred to as S_(SM), ifS_(CR)/S_(SM) is too large, there are problems such as the problem thatdeformation of the support member such as distortion is likely to occurin the accommodation chamber. For this reason, until now, thedimensional margin expressed as S_(CR)/S_(SM) has been usually set toaround 1.3. However, in the case of support members 3 having aspectratios of 0.7 or greater as seen in a cross-sectional view, many of themare considered to be adaptable to long strokes, and although stiffnessis advantageous, they have a feature that corrugated patterns arerelatively easily actualized. It is preferable that S_(CR)/S_(SM) of anaccommodation chamber for accommodating such a support member 3 shouldbe set to 1.6 or greater. In this case, when the cross-sectional area ofthe figure represented by the contour of the conduit as seen from thelongitudinal direction is referred to as S_(CT), S_(CR)/S_(CT) may beset to be smaller than S_(CR)/S_(SM).

In particular, in a conduit support device having an intermediate member5 between a support member 3 and an accommodation member, it ispreferable to have such a dimensional margin. In this case, as thecross-sectional area S_(SM) of the contour figure of the support member,an area including the intermediate member 5 may be applied.

Even in the case of using a support member 3 with a large aspect ratioin which there is a concern that corrugated patterns will be actualized,or even in the case where the height becomes larger than that of theintermediate member, if the conduit support device 1 has a configurationas mentioned above, it is possible to alleviate occurrence of corrugatedpatterns which might become a bending habit in the accommodation memberand achieve improvement of the reliability of the accommodation member.

(a) of FIG. 19 and (b) of FIG. 19 are views illustrating a still furtherexample of the conduit support device 1, and are cross-sectional viewsof the conduit support device 1 as seen from the longitudinal directionthereof. The conduit support device 1 of the present embodiment can havethe same configuration as those of the other conduit support devices 1except that the configuration of the accommodation member is partiallydifferent. In the present embodiment, the accommodation member of theconduit support device 1 includes an inner sheet 4 a to be positioned onthe inner periphery side during bending, and an outer sheet 4 b to bepositioned on the outer periphery side during bending. Between the innersheet 4 a and the outer sheet 4 b, an accommodation chamber CR isformed, and in the corresponding accommodation chamber CR, a supportmember 3 is inserted. Also in the present embodiment, between thesupport member 3 and the accommodation member, an intermediate member 5does not need to be necessarily formed; however, it goes without sayingthat if an intermediate member 5 is formed, higher reliability isobtained.

In the present embodiment, the outer sheet 4 b is made of a sheet havingstretchability higher than that of the inner sheet 4 a. Here, havinghigh stretchability means that the amount of deformation in thelongitudinal direction when external stress having the same magnitude isapplied is large.

For example, an accommodation member made of such materials that whentest pieces having the same shape and the same area are cut out of theouter sheet and the inner sheet, and tensile loads having the samemagnitude are applied to the test pieces, at least in elasticdeformation areas, the amount of deformation of the test piece cut outof the outer sheet is larger than the amount of deformation of the testpiece cut out of the inner sheet corresponds to this.

In a conduit support device 1 having such a configuration, since it ispossible to more greatly absorb the difference in periphery lengthbetween the inner periphery and the outer periphery attributable tobending by expansion of the outer sheet, it becomes possible to suppresscorrugated patterns on the inner sheet positioned on the inner peripheryside.

In (a) of FIG. 19 , the outer sheet has a middle layer thinner than theinner sheet. In (b) of FIG. 19 , the outer sheet is configured to havefewer layers than the inner sheet has. The middle layer of the innersheet has a three-layer structure including ML1, ML2, and ML3, and ML2is made of a material having mechanical strength higher than those ofML1 and ML3. The middle layer of the outer sheet and the middle layersML1 and ML3 of the inner sheet are made of, for example, polyurethane,and the middle layer ML2 of the inner sheet is made of, for example,ePTFE.

In the configuration of (b) of FIG. 19 , since the middle layer ML2 actsas a mechanical reinforcement layer, the bending elasticity of the innersheet also increases. Since resistance to deformation attributable toexternal force increases, the inner sheet having high bending elasticitycan obtain the effect of suppressing occurrence of corrugated patternsas compared to the case of having no mechanical reinforcement layer.

FIG. 20 is a view illustrating a still further example of the conduitsupport device 1, and is a cross-sectional view of the conduit supportdevice 1 as seen from the longitudinal direction thereof. The conduitsupport device 1 of the present embodiment can have the sameconfiguration as those of the other conduit support devices 1 exceptthat the configuration of the accommodation member is partiallydifferent. In the present embodiment, the accommodation member of theconduit support device 1 includes an inner sheet 4 a to be positioned onthe inner periphery side during bending, and an outer sheet 4 b to bepositioned on the outer periphery side during bending. The inner sheet 4a and the outer sheet 4 b are joined to each other in three joint areasincluding a joint area AR1, a joint area AR2, and a joint area AR3.

In the area between the joint area AR1 and the joint area AR2, anaccommodation chamber CR is formed between the inner sheet 4 a and theouter sheet 4 b, and a support member 3 is inserted into thecorresponding accommodation chamber CR. Also in the present embodiment,between the support member 3 and the accommodation member, anintermediate member 5 does not need to be necessarily formed; however,it goes without saying that if an intermediate member 5 is formed,higher reliability is obtained. In the area between the joint area AR2and the joint area AR3, another accommodation chamber CR is formedbetween the inner sheet 4 a and the outer sheet 4 b, and a conduit 2 isinserted into the corresponding accommodation chamber CR.

In the present embodiment, in a cross-sectional view of the conduitsupport device 1 as seen from the longitudinal direction thereof, thelength along the inner sheet 4 a between the joint area AR1 and thejoint area AR2 is shorter than the length along the outer sheet 4 bbetween the joint area AR1 and the joint area AR2. In a conduit supportdevice 1 with an accommodation member having such a configuration, theshape of the inner sheet 4 a is less uneven than the shape of the outersheet 4 b is. Therefore, during bending of the conduit support device 1,the inner sheet 4 a can reduce occurrence of complicated creasesattributable to overlapping of a plurality of curves, and as a result,it is possible to suppress acceleration of wear attributable tooccurrence of corrugated patterns. Further, in FIG. 20 , the inner sheet4 a is shown as a completely flat structure; however, it may bulgetoward the inner periphery side (downward in the drawing). As seen froma plane including at least two adjacent joint areas AR1 and AR2, theamount of bulging of the inner sheet 4 a toward the inner periphery sideneeds only to be smaller than the amount of bulging of the outer sheet 4b toward the outer periphery side.

EXAMPLES

Now, examples of the present invention will be described.

Creation of First Example and First Comparative Example

A support member 3 made of a metal element as shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 7was stored in an accommodation member 4 made from three layers, i.e. aninner layer IL (ePTFE), a middle layer ML (polyurethane), and an outerlayer OL (ePTFE).

And, as a first example, a conduit support device 1 having anintermediate member 5 made of polyethylene resin (PE) and having aheat-shrinkable tube structure between the support member 3 and theaccommodation member 4 was prepared. As a first comparative example forcomparison, a conduit support device 1 in which there was nointermediate member 5, i.e. the surface of a support member 3 was indirect contact with an accommodation member 4 was prepared.

(Durability Test)

The first example and the first comparative example prepared were movedback and forth at a frequency of 105 cycles/minute in the state wherethe mounting height (corresponding to two times the curvature radius Rof the curved part of the support member 3) was set to 100 mm and theamount of stroke of the moving end was set to 400 mm). After one millioncycles, the conduit support devices 1 were stopped, and the innersurfaces of the accommodation members 4 were observed with an opticalmicroscope.

(Test Results)

In the first comparative example, in an area of the inner surface of theaccommodation member 4 in contact with the outer surface of the supportmember 3, clear stripe-shaped patterns in the direction parallel to thelongitudinal direction of the support member 3 were confirmed. In someparts, patterns considered as flaws formed since the surface layer wasscratched were confirmed. These are presumed to be flaws formed sincerelative moving of the support member 3 and the accommodation member 4in the longitudinal direction of the support member 3 was repeated.These flaws are very shallow flaws, but may lead to problems such asbreakage of the accommodation member 4, if reciprocating is furtherrepeated, or depending on the weight of the conduit which the supportmember supports.

In contrast, in the first example, neither clear stripe-shaped patternsas seen in the first comparative example nor patterns considered asflaws formed since the surface layer was scratched were not confirmed.

In this way, it was possible to confirm the durability of the conduitsupport device 1 having the intermediate member 5 between the supportmember 3 and the accommodation member 4.

Creation of Second Comparative Example

As a second comparative example, the following conduit support devicewas prepared. In the second comparative example, there was nointermediate member. First, a support member 3 as shown in FIG. 11 wasprepared. This support member 3 included block members made ofglass-reinforced liquid crystal polymer, and the aspect ratio(height/width) of the support member was about 0.83.

This support member was stored in an accommodation member 4 having thestructure shown in FIG. 16 . In both of the inner sheet 4 a and theouter sheet 4 b of the accommodation member, the inner layers IL andouter layers OL were made of ePTFE, and the middle layers ML were madeof polyurethane. The total thickness of the inner sheet and the outersheet was 0.4 mm. The above-mentioned dimensional margin expressed asS_(CR)/S_(SM) was set to about 1.3. The length between joint areas AR ofthe inner sheet defining an accommodation chamber was set to be the sameas that of the outer sheet.

Creation of Second to Fifth Examples

As examples, the following conduit support devices were prepared. Eachconduit support device has the same configuration as that of thecomparative example except the described differences.

As a second example, a conduit support device in which a support memberwith a NITOFLON adhesive tape attached to the bottom surface wasinserted was prepared. The thickness of this adhesive tape was 0.08 mm,and in a cross section as seen from the longitudinal direction of thesupport member, the tape formation height on the side surface of thesupport member was set to about 10% of the height of the support member.

As a third example, a conduit support device in which an identicalsupport member was inserted in an accommodation member enlarged suchthat the above-mentioned dimensional margin expressed as S_(CR)/S_(SM)became 1.6 was prepared.

As a fourth example, a conduit support device in which an identicalsupport member was inserted in an accommodation member in which thethickness of the inner sheet was 0.8 mm was prepared. The thickness ofthe outer sheet of the accommodation member was about 50% of thethickness of the inner sheet.

As a fifth example, a device in which the length between joint areasdefining an accommodation chamber for inserting a support member wasshorter than the length along the outer sheet was prepared.

(Durability Test)

The comparative second example and the second to fifth examples preparedwere moved back and forth at a frequency of 70 cycles/minute in thestate where the mounting height (corresponding to two times thecurvature radius R of the curved part of the support member 3) was setto 125 mm and the amount of stroke of the moving end was set to 400 mm.At intervals of a predetermined number of cycles, the conduit supportdevices 1 were stopped, and transmission patterns appearing on asmoother by installing a light source on the back of the smoother wereobserved to observe their wear states.

(Test Results)

In the second comparative example, at the 2 millionth cycle, shadowscaused by wear were clearly confirmed; however, in the second, third,and fourth examples, even after about 2.68 to 3.15 million cycles, wearwas rarely confirmed. Also, in the conduit support device of the fifthexample, it was confirmed by visual inspection of the curved state thatcorrugated patterns on the inner periphery side of bending werealleviated. As mentioned above, in various embodiments, it was possibleto verify that the reliability of each conduit support device actuallyimproved.

Although the present invention has been described in detail withreference to its specific embodiments, it is obvious to those skilled inthe art that various changes or modifications can be made on theinvention without departing from its spirit and scope.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The conduit support device according to the present invention can beapplied to, for example, robot travel devices and so on assembled inmachining lines, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, flat paneldisplay manufacturing equipment, electronic-component mountingapparatuses, and so on.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   -   1 CONDUIT SUPPORT DEVICE    -   2 CONDUIT    -   3 SUPPORT MEMBER    -   4 ACCOMMODATION MEMBER    -   5 INTERMEDIATE MEMBER

1. A conduit support device comprising a conduit, a support memberconfigured to extend along a longitudinal direction of the conduit, andintegrally support the conduit, and be capable of being bent at anarbitrary position in the longitudinal direction, and an accommodationmember having a plurality of accommodation chambers, each of whichdefines a cylindrical space extending along the longitudinal direction,wherein the plurality of accommodation chambers comprises a firstaccommodation chamber in which the conduit is stored and a secondaccommodation chamber in which the support member is stored, and thesupport member comprises a trapping layer capable of trapping particlesexisting inside the accommodation member.
 2. The conduit support deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the support member is configured to becapable of being bent in a first direction up to a predeterminedcurvature and maintain a straight shape without being bent in a seconddirection which is a direction opposite to the first direction, and ashape of the conduit and a shape of the accommodation member arerestricted by a shape of the support member.
 3. The conduit supportdevice according to claim 1, wherein the trapping layer is made of anadhesive substance.
 4. The conduit support device according to claim 3,wherein the adhesive substance is selected from a rubber-based adhesive,an acrylic adhesive, or a silicon-based adhesive
 5. The conduit supportdevice according to claim 1, wherein the trapping layer is made of asubstance which is semisolid at an ordinary temperature.
 6. The conduitsupport device according to claim 5, wherein the substance which issemisolid at an ordinary temperature is formed as a layer having athickness of 10 μm or greater.
 7. The conduit support device accordingto claim 5, wherein the substance which is semisolid at an ordinarytemperature is formed as a layer made of grease and having a thicknessof 10 μm or greater.
 8. The conduit support device according to claim 5,wherein the substance which is semisolid at an ordinary temperaturecomprises grease having a hardness so that worked penetration of thegrease is equal to or lower than 400 at 25° C.
 9. The conduit supportdevice according to claim 5, wherein the substance which is semisolid atan ordinary temperature comprises grease having a hardness so thatworked penetration of the grease is equal to or higher than 80 at 25° C.10. The conduit support device according to claim 1, wherein theparticles existing inside the accommodation member comprise abrasionpowder of the support member or the accommodation member, the abrasionpowder being generated by sliding of the conduit support device.
 11. Theconduit support device according to claim 1, wherein the support membercomprises an area in which the trapping layer is provided and an area inwhich the trapping layer is not provided.
 12. The conduit support deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the support member is made from aplurality of block members and a surface of each of the plurality ofblock members comprises an area at which the trapping layer is providedand an area at which the trapping layer is not provided, and the area atwhich the trapping layer is provided is positioned in an area of thesurface of each of the plurality of block members which does not contactwith other of the plurality of block members.
 13. The conduit supportdevice according to claim 1, wherein the support member has an aspectratio of 0.7 or greater, in which the aspect ratio is a value obtainedby dividing a size of the support member in a direction from an innerperiphery side of the bending of the support member to an outerperiphery side of the bending of the support member in a cross-sectionalview of the support member by a size of the support member in adirection being perpendicular to the direction from the inner peripheryside of the bending of the support member to the outer periphery side ofthe bending of the support member in the cross-sectional view of thesupport member.
 14. The conduit support device according to claim 1,wherein the accommodation member comprises an inner sheet which ispositioned at an inner periphery side of the bending of the supportmember, and an outer sheet which is positioned at an outer peripheryside of the bending of the support member, the accommodation membercomprises a plurality of joint areas formed by bonding the inner sheetand the outer sheet, and the plurality of accommodation chambers isformed respectively between the plurality of joint areas.
 15. Theconduit support device according to claim 14, wherein the plurality ofjoint areas formed by bonding the inner sheet and the outer sheetcomprises a first joint area, a second joint area and a third jointarea, the first accommodation chamber in which the conduit is stored isdefined by the first joint area and the second joint area, and thesecond accommodation chamber in which the support member is stored isdefined by the second joint area and the third joint area, and in astate where the accommodation member is flattened, a length between thefirst joint area and the second joint area is smaller than a lengthbetween the second joint area and the third joint area.
 16. The conduitsupport device according to claim 15, wherein the length between thesecond joint area and the third joint area is equal to or larger than1.2 times the length between the first joint area and the second jointarea.
 17. The conduit support device according to claim 14, wherein theouter sheet has stretchability higher than stretchability of the innersheet.
 18. A processing apparatus comprising: a stage on which aworkpiece to be processed is to be disposed; a processing head which isrelatively movable with respect to the workpieces; and the conduitsupport device according to claim 1.